Drug Therapies AO1

• Antipsychotic drugs


  Can be taken as a tablet, syrup, or injection given every 2-4 weeks
• Some patients can take a short course of antipsychotics then stop their use without the return of symptoms
• Many patients require antipsychotics for life in order to prevent the recurrence of schizophrenia symptoms
• Antipsychotics


  Can be divided into typical (traditional) and newer atypical (or second generation) drugs
• Typical antipsychotics


  • Have been around since the 1950s
  • An example is Chlorpromazine
  • They are dopamine antagonists as they reduce the effects of dopamine in the brain
  • They do this by blocking dopamine receptors in the brain
  • This normalises dopamine pathways in subcortical regions of the brain and leads to a reduction in positive symptoms such as hallucinations
  • Chlorpromazine also acts on histamine receptors, which has a sedative effect
• Atypical antipsychotics


  • Have been used since the 1970s
  • Examples include Clozapine and Risperidone
  • They target serotonin receptors (in a similar way to antidepressants) as well as blocking dopamine receptors
  • As well as causing a reduction in positive symptoms these drugs also alleviate the negative symptoms of schizophrenia, reduce co-morbid depression and anxiety in patients and improve cognitive function